Details

Actions

Mar 7, 2014: REFERRED TO INFRASTRUCTURE AND CAPITAL INVESTMENT

Memo

BILL NUMBER:S6770

TITLE OF BILL: An act in relation to authorizing the creation of a state debt in the amount of two billion dollars, in relation to creating the urban restoration bond act of 2014 for the purposes of funding capital projects to provide for improving the infrastructure of cities of this state; and providing for the submission to the people of a proposition or question therefor to be voted upon at the general election to be held in November, 2014

PURPOSE:

This bill would authorize the creation of a state debt, pursuant to referendum, in the amount of two billion dollars, for the purpose of improving the infrastructure of cities in the state.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one of the bill creates the short title of the bill: "the urban restoration bond act of 2014".

Section two of the bill provides for the creation of a state debt in an amount not to exceed $2,000,000,000 to provide moneys for the single purpose of improving the infrastructure of cities of the state by funding capital projects.

Section three of the bill authorizes the comptroller to issue and sell bonds up to the aggregate amount of two billion dollars for the purposes of this act.

Section four of the bill provides that the use of the moneys received from the sale of bonds sold pursuant to this act shall be spent on capital projects related to design, planning, site acquisition, demolition, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, expansion and modernization of transportation systems, roads, bridges, water supply systems, drainage systems, and publicly owned storm and sanitary sewers.

JUSTIFICATION:

Cities across New York are struggling to stay out of debt while maintaining aging and failing infrastructure. Costs of running cities are escalating as revenues are not keeping pace with the costs of maintaining pension funds and healthcare plans. Additionally, the natural disasters the state has suffered from over the past few years have exacerbated the needs of cities to rebuild and restore infrastructure,. A bond act to help cities fund capital projects for the restoration of their infrastructure is justified at this time.

Mayors across the state are desperate for a funding mechanism that will give them a means of addressing their cities' needs. In the absence of relief from a new funding stream, several cities in New York will be faced with imminent bankruptcy. The Unites States has already witnessed a new phenomenon of bankruptcy in such major cites such as Detroit, Michigan and San Bernardino, California. Cities should not have to leverage the benefit of public safety against costs of repairing failing infrastructure. This bond act proposal will give

cities the means to fund necessary repairs and continue to provide essential services.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

This bill would allow for a debt not to exceed, in aggregate, two billion dollars through the sale of bonds.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

The effective date section of the bill provides that this act shall not take effect unless and until it is approved by a majority of votes cast by the people in a general election in November 2014. Upon approval, the act shall take effect immediately. The question before the voters would be written as follows, "Shall the URBAN RESTORATION BOND ACT OF 2014 be approved?".

Text

STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6770
IN SENATE
March 7, 2014
___________

Introduced by Sen. VALESKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Infrastructure and Capital
Investment
AN ACT in relation to authorizing the creation of a state debt in the
amount of two billion dollars, in relation to creating the urban
restoration bond act of 2014 for the purposes of funding capital
projects to provide for improving the infrastructure of cities of this
state; and providing for the submission to the people of a proposition
or question therefor to be voted upon at the general election to be
held in November, 2014
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The urban restoration bond act of 2014 is enacted to read
as follows:
URBAN RESTORATION BOND ACT OF 2014
Section 1. Short title.
2. Creation of a state debt.
3. Bonds of the state.
4. Use of moneys received.
S 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as the
"urban restoration bond act of 2014".
S 2. Creation of a state debt. The creation of a state debt in an
amount not exceeding in the aggregate two billion dollars
($2,000,000,000) is hereby authorized to provide moneys for the single
purpose of improving the infrastructure of cities of this state by fund-
ing capital projects to repair, rehabilitate, construct, enhance, expand
and modernize transportation systems, roads, bridges, water supply
systems, drainage systems, and publicly owned storm and sanitary sewers.
The legislature may, by appropriate legislation and subject to such
conditions as it may impose, make available out of the proceeds of the
sale of bonds authorized in this act, moneys disbursed or to be
disbursed for the cost of approved capital projects undertaken by, or on
behalf of, cities for such purposes.

EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14049-01-4

S. 6770 2

S 3. Bonds of the state. The state comptroller is hereby authorized
and empowered to issue and sell bonds of the state up to the aggregate
amount of two billion dollars ($2,000,000,000) for the purposes of this
act, subject to the provisions of article five of the state finance law.
The aggregate principal amount of such bonds shall not exceed two
billion dollars ($2,000,000,000) excluding bonds issued to refund or
otherwise repay bonds heretofore issued for such purpose; provided,
however, that upon any such refunding or repayment, the total aggregate
principal amount of outstanding bonds may be greater than two billion
dollars ($2,000,000,000) only if the present value of the aggregate debt
service of the refunding or repayment bonds to be issued shall not
exceed the present value of the aggregate debt service of the bonds to
be refunded or repaid. The method for calculating present value shall be
determined by law.
S 4. Use of moneys received. The moneys received by the state from the
sale of bonds sold pursuant to this act shall be expended pursuant to
appropriations for capital projects related to design, planning, site
acquisition, demolition, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation,
or acquisition and/or installation of equipment for the following types
of projects: capital projects related to repairing, rehabilitating,
constructing, enhancing, expanding and modernizing transportation
systems, roads, bridges, water supply systems, drainage systems, and
publicly owned storm and sanitary sewers.
S 2. This act shall take effect immediately, provided that the
provisions of section one of this act shall not take effect unless and
until this act shall have been submitted to the people at the general
election to be held in November 2014 and shall have been approved by a
majority of all votes cast for and against it at such election. Upon
approval by the people, section one of this act shall take effect imme-
diately. The ballots to be furnished for the use of voters upon
submission of this act shall be in the form prescribed by the election
law and the proposition or question to be submitted shall be printed
thereon in substantially the following form, namely "The URBAN RESTORA-
TION BOND ACT OF 2014, as set forth in section one of chapter (here
insert the chapter number) of the laws of 2014, authorizes the sale of
state bonds of up to two billion dollars ($2,000,000,000) to provide for
improving the infrastructure of cities of this state. Shall the URBAN
RESTORATION BOND ACT OF 2014 be approved?".

Comments

Open Legislation comments facilitate discussion of New York State legislation. All comments are subject to moderation.
Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity or hate speech;
or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Comment moderation
is generally performed Monday through Friday.